Wire bonds are often used to connect an integrated circuit (IC) to a printed circuit board (PCB). Sometimes, these wire bonds are used to route direct current (DC) biasing voltages or currents to a chip on the IC, in order to control the operation of the chip. During low frequency operations, the negative effects of utilizing a wire bond are not experienced. However, for high speed/frequency radiofrequency (RF) microwave signals, any discontinuity in the signal path caused by wire bonding can significantly degrade the quality of the signal. This can be because a wire bond is inductive in nature, and at high frequencies, an inductor is open in nature, which can allow very little of the signal to pass through. Therefore, compensation of this wire bond inductance must be implemented.
Various methods can be used to mitigate wire bond losses at high frequency. One method is to lower the inductance by using two or three wire bonds in parallel, thereby lowering the effective inductance. Ribbon bonds, which are wider than wire bonds and lower in inductance, can also be utilized. Compensation techniques are also popular. Compensation methods can usually implement additional capacitors and inductors directly on the PCB so that the PCB inductance “matches” the IC impedance. Although these standard compensation techniques are prevalent, there is generally a limitation to the values of the matching network elements which can be realized using a PCB, and therefore a limit in the frequency of operation that can be obtained.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device and method for connecting an IC to a PCB using a single wire bond in a manner that allows for high frequency of operation with less return losses. A further object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for connecting an IC to a PCB using a wire bond and a defective ground plane in order to achieve broadband performance. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for connecting an IC to a PCB using a wire bond in a manner that allows for high frequency of operation without requiring matching network components on the IC. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for connecting an IC to a PCB using a single wire bond, without requiring multiple wire bonds or wire ribbons. Yet another object of the present invention to provide a device and method for connecting an integrated circuit to a printed circuit board with a wire bond for high frequency of operation, which is easy to manufacture, that is inexpensive, and that is easy to use.